US and Hungary sign nuclear cooperation deal as Trump deepens ties with controversial leader Viktor Orbán

The United States and Hungary signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement on Monday, as the Trump administration deepened bilateral ties with a controversial ally at a politically sensitive time for Budapest.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Budapest to meet with the Hungarian Prime Minister. Viktor Orbán and senior members of his government, during which Rubio and Orbán signed the pact.

The deal comes two months before Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections, which may determine whether Orbán can maintain his grip on power for two decades.

What’s in the nuclear deal between the United States and Hungary?

The United States and Hungary signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Nuclear Energy in November 2025, launching negotiations on cooperation across the civil nuclear industry, including small modular reactors (SMR) and spent fuel storage.

Hungary relies heavily on nuclear energy and its nuclear sector has until now been closely linked to Russia, with which Orbán’s government has maintained close ties despite President Vladimir Putin’s four-year war against neighboring Ukraine.

Hungary has long relied on Russian technology and fuel to power its nuclear plants.

The new agreement “will build on decades of nuclear energy cooperation” between Washington and Budapest, and underscores the United States’ commitment “to making Hungary a hub for regional small modular reactor (SMR) development, and encouraged Hungary to select American SMR technology,” the US State Department said in a statement, calling it part of broader efforts to promote “our mutual security interests in the region.”

Under the agreement, Hungary will buy nuclear fuel from American suppliers for the first time, and the American company Holtec International will help Hungary manage its spent nuclear fuel.

Trump ‘deeply committed to’ Orban’s success

Viktor Orban, a self-proclaimed populist and leader of the far-right Fedesz party, is a longtime ally of President Trump, who previously called him “a great man and a very special person.”

For Orbán, the agreement with the United States has both political and strategic significance. It allows Hungary to demonstrate that it is diversifying its nuclear supply chain, giving it new options besides Russia. Close cooperation with Washington also offers it a diplomatic victory as the country prepares for parliamentary elections on April 12.

After the deal was signed on Monday, Rubio credited Trump and Orbán’s strong personal relationship, telling the Hungarian leader that he could “tell you with confidence that President Trump is deeply committed to your success.”

Orbán also praised the relationship, stating that “a new golden age has begun in the relationship between the United States and Hungary.”

He reiterated Hungary’s standing offer to host a peace summit between Ukraine and Russia as part of Trump’s efforts to negotiate a peace deal to end the four-year war in Ukraine. Both Orbán and Mr Trump said in mid-October that the American leader would meet in Budapest with Russia’s Putin to discuss the war, but the The White House said five days later there were no plans for such a meeting.

For the United States, the civil nuclear deal is a way to advance two key goals of the Trump administration: countering Russian and Chinese influence in Central Europe’s energy sector and expanding markets for American nuclear technology.

Hungary has a long-standing civil nuclear partnership with Russia. Moscow operates four Russian-made VVER-440 reactors at the Paks nuclear power plant in central Hungary, which generate almost half of Hungary’s electricity.

In 2025, the Trump administration lifted sanctions on the project to allow Hungary to upgrade the Paks nuclear plant.

Orbán is a divisive figure in Europe

The agreement deepens ties between the United States and Hungary despite ongoing tension between the Orbán government and traditional US allies in Western Europe, mistrust that has been deepened by Hungary’s tolerant stance toward Russia during the war against Ukraine.

The Trump administration framed the deal as part of a broader strategy to bolster U.S. leadership in energy technology and reengage allies in Europe.

Orbán was the first and only European Union leader to publicly endorse Trump’s first successful bid for the US presidency in 2016, and the two have maintained close ties since then.

Orbán, who according to Human Rights Watch has used his party’s supermajority in the Hungarian parliament to undermine the independence of the country’s judiciary, repress independent media, demonize immigrants, and discriminate against LGBTQ peoplewas effusive in praising Trump’s return to the Oval Office a year ago.

• Hungary’s government pays citizens to form the “right” type of family

“The Trump tsunami devastated the entire world,” Orbán said last year. “This brought hope back to the world. We no longer suffocate in the waking sea.”

In 2022, the EU said Hungary under Orbán’s leadership could no longer be considered a “full democracy”, calling it a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”.